Sunday, April 3
Another 8-7 Walkoff Win Clinches Series Victory for the Mountaineers
BOONE, N.C. — Matt Vernon’s RBI double with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Appalachian State University baseball its second-straight 8-7 walkoff win over Little Rock on Sunday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
With its back-to-back walkoff victories, Appalachian State (8-20, 3-9 Sun Belt) clinched its first Sun Belt Conference victory of the season, two games to one.
Facing a full count with pinch-runner Jason Curtis on first base, Vernon ripped a line drive off into the left center field gap off of Little Rock’s eighth pitcher of the ballgame, Cody McGill. The ball split the Trojans’ left and center fielders and skipped all the way to the wall, allowing the speedy Curtis to easily score the winning run all the way from first and setting off the Mountaineers’ second raucous on-field celebration in less than 24 hours.
Vernon’s game-winner capped a wild contest that saw the teams combine for 10 runs over the final two innings.
App State took a 3-2 lead into the top of the eighth inning but Little Rock scored two runs on a wild pitch and a two-out RBI single by Matt McDowell to grab a 4-3 advantage.
The Trojans’ advantage was short-lived, however, as the Mountaineers answered with four runs in the bottom of the eighth to retake a 7-4 lead. Like he did in the ninth, Vernon provided the big hit in the eighth with a two-run single. Will Herman scored on a wild pitch and Brian Bauk hit his second sacrifice fly of the game to account for the Mountaineers’ other runs in the eighth.
Bauk, Appalachian’s closer who was called on to get the Mountaineers out of the jam in the eighth inning, returned to the mound for the ninth and quickly found himself in another precarious situation. He walked the leadoff hitter and, two batters later, gave up a line-drive single off his foot to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of the nation’s leading hitter, Little Rock’s Ryan Scott, with only one out. However, Bauk struck out Scott on a 3-2 pitch for the second out of the inning.
That brought Little Rock’s Dalton Thomas, a near .400 hitter in his own right, to bat with two outs. On a 1-1 pitch, Bauk left a fastball over the heart of the plate and Thomas crushed it over the left field wall for a game-tying homer. Following the homer, Bauk got cleanup hitter Nik Gifford to ground out to first base but the game went to the bottom of the ninth knotted at 7-7.
The Mountaineers’ No. 9 hitter Chandler Seagle led off the bottom of the ninth by drawing a four-pitch walk from McGill. Curtis came on to pinch-run for Seagle and scored on Vernon’s walkoff double two batters later.
The game was eerily similar to Saturday’s 8-7 App State victory in that both contests ended with walkoff hits, featured the same final score and had the same pitchers of record — Bauk (2-0) and McGill (0-3).
The entire weekend was also nearly a facsimile of last season’s first-ever series between the two clubs in Little Rock. The Trojans won all three of those contests in walkoff fashion, meaning that five of the six games played all-time by App State and Little Rock have ended with walkoff hits.
Vernon finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored to lead the Mountaineers’ nine-hit attack on Sunday. Conner Leonard and Parker Henderson both went 2-for-3 while Bauk finished 1-for-2 with a double, two sac flies, a walk and two RBI at the plate.
Winners of three of their last four and four of their last six games, Appalachian State returns to action on Tuesday with a neutral-site game versus Campbell in Holly Springs, N.C. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at the brand new North Main Athletic Complex (home of the Coastal Plain League’s Holly Springs Salamanders).
Clement Lifts Cajuns to Series Win Over Arkansas State
JONESBORO, Ark. – Senior Kyle Clement had a four RBI day to lift the 27th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team to a 6-1 victory over Arkansas State in the series finale on Sunday at Tomlinson Stadium.
The win marks the fifth series victory for the Cajuns (18-10, 8-4 Sun Belt) on the season and the third in Sun Belt play with two of the three conference series wins coming on the road.
"We got a 3-1 road week, and I hope that's a sign of things turning around," head coach Tony Robichaux said. "We let the first one get away from us this weekend, but we answered and came back to get the next two and that's big for us. It's good to see Clem (Clement) back after going down with an injury. He is only going to make us better, and came through with the home run and the double squeeze. The double squeeze, when you execute it, it can break your opponent's back and it did that today."
The Ragin' Cajuns got a strong performance on the mound from freshman right-hander Nick Lee (5-1) as he recorded his fifth win of the season. Lee limited the Red Wolves (13-14, 4-8 Sun Belt) to one unearned run on two hits in 5.2 innings of work. The Longville, La. native struck out a season-high eight batters in the game.
Senior right-hander Eric Carter was also lights out in relief earning his first career save tossing 3.1 scoreless innings to close things out. Carter allowed just one runner to reach base on a Matt Burgess single in the eighth as he had a season-high five strikeouts.
ASU starter Cody Jackson was handed the loss after giving up three runs (one earned) on two hits in 5.2 innings.
Both the Cajuns and Red Wolves had just three hits apiece in the game with A-State's Ty White tallying a game-high two hits.
Louisiana broke a scoreless contest in the top of the fifth to take a 1-0 edge on a safety squeeze by Brenn Conrad with runners on the corners and one out. Stefan Trosclair walked to lead off the inning and then moved to third on a single through the right side by Steven Sensley.
The Red Wolves evened things up in the bottom half of the fifth as Ty White provided his own run stealing third and then came around to score on a throwing error by catcher Nick Thurman who sailed a ball over the head of Lee at the plate.
Like in game two of the series, the Ragin' Cajuns quickly answered as Clement drove a 3-0 pitch from Jackson over the fence in right field for a two-out, two-run homer to extend the advantage to 3-1. The home run was the first of the season for Clement and his ninth of his career.
Louisiana tacked on three insurance runs in the top of the eighth. Kennon Fontenot score on a wild pitch with the bases loaded and one out to make the score 4-1. Clement came through for the Cajuns in the next at bat as the team perfectly executed a double squeeze to take a four-run lead.
The Ragin' Cajuns return to action on Tuesday at 6 p.m. as the squad hosts Northwestern State in a non-conference game at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field. Following the matchup with the Demons, the Cajuns will head to Statesboro, Ga. for a conference series starting Friday at 6 p.m. CT against Georgia Southern.
JAGS SWEEP FOURTH STRAIGHT SBC SERIES WITH WIN OVER ULM
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team secured its fourth consecutive Sun Belt Conference sweep with a 12-2 win over Louisiana-Monroe Sunday at Stanky Field.
USA (21-7, 12-0 SBC) scored 11 runs over its final four frames, including two in the bottom of the eighth to force the league's 10-run mercy rule.
Jaguar right-hander Austin Bembnowski (3-0) tossed six shutout innings, and allowed just three hits with three strikeouts and two walks to earn his third win of the season. ULM right-hander Brandon Bell (2-3) allowed six runs on six hits with five strikeouts and five walks in 4 2/3 innings in the loss.
USA took a one-run lead in the bottom of the third inning. Adam Wolfe drew a leadoff walk, stole second and moved to third on a groundout to first by Travis Swaggerty. Drew LaBounty delivered a two-out RBI single to center field later in the inning to score Wolfe with the game's first run.
The Jaguars pushed across six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to add to their lead. Wolfe drew a leadoff walk, and moved to second on a one-out single to left field by Cole Billingsley. A walk by LaBounty loaded the bases for Danny Martinez, who reached on fielder's choice to second base which allowed Wolfe to score for a 2-0 USA advantage. Martinez then stole second before Perkins delivered a two-out, two-run single into right-center field to score Billingsley and LaBounty and push the USA lead to 4-0. Barnes followed with a three-run home run to left-center field to extend the Jaguar lead to 7-0.
South Alabama added to its lead in the bottom of the sixth. Wolfe led off the bottom of the sixth with a double to the right-center gap, and moved to second when Swaggerty reached on a hit by pitch. A single to right field by Billingsley loaded the bases with no outs for LaBounty, who lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to score Wolfe for an 8-0 USA lead.
ULM (10-18, 2-7 SBC) scored its only two runs of the game in the top of the seventh on a two-out, two-run single by Spencer Hemphill.
USA added a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh. Donovan doubled off of the right field wall to lead off the inning, and moved to third on a single to left field by Barnes to put runners at the corners with no outs. Matt Bolger delivered a one-out RBI single to right field later in the inning to score Donovan for a 9-2 USA lead. Pinch-runner Dylan Hardy added the final run of the inning when he took home on a throw to second on a stolen base by Bolger for a 10-2 advantage.
USA loaded the bases on consecutive walks by Ryan Raspino and Danny Martinez, and a pinch-hit single by Jalen Haskin in the bottom of the eighth. Donovan drew a walk to score Raspino for an 11-2 lead, and a sacrifice fly by Tanner Halstead scored Martinez with the game's final run.
"Austin Bembnowski did a really nice job and got us off to a good start," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "We're very pleased with where we're at, and we feel very fortunate to have won all three this weekend. Drew LaBounty had two big RBI when the game was tight, (Carter) Perkins had the big RBI to open it (lead) up to four runs and then Jared Barnes came up with the three-run home run which gave us some separation. We'll need to be better defensively than we have been the past couple of weeks. It hasn't been awful, but it has been a little bit spotty. We'll need to be better in our defense moving forward in this league."
Barnes went 3-for-4 with a home run – his fourth of the season – three RBI and one run scored to lead the Jaguars at the plate. LaBounty finished 2-for-2 with two RBI, and Perkins added a hit, two RBI and one run scored. Ross Moore went 2-for-2 to lead ULM offensively.
South Alabama will return to action Tue., April 5, when it travels to Montgomery, Ala., for a 6 p.m. contest with Alabama State.
Offensive Production Lifts Troy Baseball Past New Orleans for Series Victory
TROY, Alabama – The Troy baseball team scored nine runs on nine hits and had three players with multi-hit and multi-RBI performances that lifted Troy past New Orleans, 9-4, on Championship Sunday at Riddle-Pace Field.
"That was the difference in the game today," Mark Smartt said. "The 9-4 win, we scored six in the answer inning in the bottom of the third."
Peyton Fuller was the lone Trojan who had a combined multi-hit and multi-RBI performance. He went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs. Chase Smartt and Joey Denison were the other two players that had two RBI days, while Trevor Davis and Brandon Lockridge had the other two multi-hit games for Troy.
After falling behind 3-0, the Trojans (16-13) scored six runs in the third inning. Four runs scored on back-to-back-to-back doubles from Fuller, Smartt and Davis. The other two runs in the inning scored immediately after Davis' double when Denison homered to left field and gave Troy a 6-3 lead.
New Orleans (18-10) cut the deficit to two runs in the sixth as their final run of the game scored on a fielder's choice to second base. Aaron Palmer had a 3-for-4 performance for the Privateers and drove in two runs with two doubles and scored a run.
TJ Binder hit an RBI triple to right center field that scored the first Troy run in the sixth inning. The triple for Binder was the first of his career. He touched home plate on a Lockridge double to left center and extended the Trojan lead to 8-4. Troy pushed across its last run in the same inning when Lockridge scored on a groundout to shortstop.
Lucas Brown (4-3) bounced back and picked his first win since March 12 against UL Lafayette. He allowed four runs – three came in the third – on six hits and two walks. Brown added three strikeouts to his stat line and got nine groundouts in the game.
Cory Gill picked up his first career save as he pitched three innings of one hit ball and struck out three while walking one.
Bryan Warzek (1-2) suffered the loss for New Orleans. He only pitched 2.1 innings, allowed six runs on five hits, walked one and struck out three. The Privateers used four more pitchers to close out the game. Together, they allowed three runs on four hits, walked two and struck out four.
Troy will resume its nine-game homestand with a game against Samford on Trivia Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
Late Comeback Completes the Series Sweep for Bobcats
STATESBORO, Ga. – Texas State made it interesting in the final game of the series against Georgia Southern, but the Bobcats used clutch hitting in the ninth inning to secure a 4-3 victory and complete the series sweep. With the win, the Bobcats improve to 18-10 overall and 9-3 in the Sun Belt Conference, finishing the weekend in sole possession of second place in the SBC.
Texas State held onto a 1-0 lead most of the game until the seventh inning when Georgia Southern scored two runs to go ahead. The Eagles added a run in the bottom of the eighth to push the Eagle lead to 3-1. Unfazed, the Bobcats struck back in the ninth, scoring three runs for the 4-3 win.
Ryan Newman drew a walk to lead off the inning, and Cory Geisler followed with a single through the left side. With runners at first and second, Luke Sherley laid down a sacrifice bunt, but the Georgia Southern third baseman committed a two-base error to allow Newman to score and Geisler and Sherley to advance to second and third.
With both runners in scoring position, Theodore Hoffman pinch hit. He put the ball in play on a groundout to plate Geisler and tie the game, 3-3. After that, Mickey Scott pinch hit and sent a fly ball to deep centerfield for a sacrifice fly, scoring Sherley and putting the Bobcats on top for good.
Pasquale Mazzoccoli earned his sixth save of the season with solid work in the bottom of the ninth. He struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches and followed that with a nice snag on a comebacker, getting it to first base in time for the second out. After a single and a walk, Mazzoccoli induced a grounder to Jaylen Hubbard who secured the game with the unassisted putout at third.
Geisler was impressive in his second weekend start on the mound. He went 6.1 innings with six strikeouts and only gave up one earned run, but he wasn't even on the mound for that.
Granger Studdard and Jonathan Ortega led the team in hitting Sunday with two apiece. Studdard added a walk on his 2-for-3 day. Hubbard and Geisler had the other hits for the Bobcats.
Texas State started the scoring in the top of the third. Cody Lovejoy took a base due to a hit by pitch to lead off the inning and Ortega followed with a double to right field. With runners at second and third base, Hubbard knocked a single through the left side to plate Lovejoy and put the Bobcats up, 1-0. He had the only RBI for the Bobcats until the ninth inning.
Texas State would go on to load the bases with no outs in the inning, but a line drive and a double play ended the Bobcat at-bat. As the Bobcats loaded the bases in the third, they looked to have Georgia Southern starter Brian Eichhorn on the ropes, but he rebounded by forcing a line out and a double play to limit Texas State. After the Bobcats loaded the bases, Eichhorn went on to retire the next eight Bobcats and 10 of 11 batters faced into the sixth inning before taking a seat.
Georgia Southern's relief continued the streak to make it six more consecutive Bobcats retired after Eichhorn left the game, making it 16 of 17 Bobcat bats to go down before Studdard reached on an error in the eighth inning. The streak would not continue as the Bobcats came up big in the ninth for the victory.
Texas State begins a busy week when the Bobcats host UTSA for the second meeting of the season between the teams at 6 p.m. Tuesday. After that, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi comes to San Marcos for a 6 p.m. game Wednesday followed by a weekend series against non-conference opponent Nevada.
Woullard, Roach Lead GSU to 8-7 Win over UTA
ATLANTA -- Jaylen Woullard hit a three-run homer and Joey Roach drove in the winning run with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly to give GSU an 8-7 win over UT Arlington in Sunday's series finale Sunday at the GSU Baseball Complex.
Georgia State (14-14, 3-6 Sun Belt) rebounded from a tough Saturday on which UT Arlington (16-13, 4-5) clinched the series with a doubleheader sweep, including an 18-16 win in 10 innings in the nightcap.
After UT Arlington scored four runs in the first inning, GSU starter Bryan White settled down and did not allow a hit or a run for the next five innings to keep the Panthers in the game.
Georgia State began to chip away, scoring one run in the second inning on Woullard's sacrifice fly and another in the third on Jarrett Hood's RBI-single.
With GSU trailing 4-2 in the sixth, Jack Thompson got aboard with a one-out single, moved to second on a wild pitch and came home on a run-scoring single by freshman Darius Sewell, making just his third start of the season.
After Will Kilgore drew a walk, the left-handed hitting Woullard hit a first-pitch fastball off starter UTA's lefty starter Brad Vassar off the scoreboard in right field for a three-run blast and his first homer of the season. That gave GSU its first lead at 6-4.
The Mavericks immediately tied the game in the seventh, turning three walks and a hit batter, sandwiched around one single, into two runs to knot the game at 6-6.
Roach and Hood led off the bottom of the seventh with back-to-back singles, and then Jack Thompson delivered a run-scoring single to bring home Roach and tie the game again at 7-7.
But UTA tied the game again as pinch hitter Colton Turner doubled to lead off the eighth and came home on Josh Minjarez's single. But the Panthers' avoided further damage as reliever Bryce Conley came on to retire three straight batter.
GSU shortstop Justin Jones started the Panthers' winning rally with a leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth off Daniel James (0-3) and moved to second on a groundout. James Clements hit a blooper that just eluded the diving second baseman for a single to put runners at first and third. That's when Roach brought home the go-ahed run with a sacrifice fly to left field.
With the Panthers now leading 8-7, Conley (5-2) struck out the side in the top of the ninth to seal the win and earn his team-leading fifth victory.
Roach, the senior catcher, also picked a runner off first base to help limit the damage in that inning and threw out a runner trying to steal second in the sixth inning. In addition to his homer and four RBI, Woullard saved at least two runs with an outstanding catch in left field with bases loaded and two outs.
White did not figure in the decision, but his final line saw him allow four runs on just three hits in six innings of work with four strikeouts.
Georgia State plays Tuesday at Auburn at 7 p.m. ET in a game that will air on SEC Network-Plus.